Powering theEnduring ProtectionofLake George

A Place

Like No Other

Lake George is one of the clearest, cleanest lakes in America. It is a place that beckons – where we come to relax and rejoice with our families, renew our spirit, and revel in nature. For many of us, “The Lake” is a place where our families have spent summers for generations. Lake George is no doubt part of the legacy you want for your children and grandchildren, with a future full of new and wonderful memories of this place like no other that brings us together and touches our souls.

Together, we will keep Lake George clear and clean, forever.

There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve ourselves.

There has never been a more exciting or promising time for protection of our beloved Lake George! In this latest report, we present The FUND’s accelerating progress toward achieving our 2020 protection milestones to keep Lake George clear and clean, forever. Powering our Model for Enduring Protection is the uncompromising nancial support of all those who care so deeply about the Lake.

Since 2013, The FUND has invested over $7 million in protecting Lake George: stopping invasive species, curbing excessive road salt, and reducing wastewater and stormwater pollution. Moreover, investments by The FUND are targeted and leveraged to generate a 7X multiplier effect fueling the fast pace of our groundbreaking results on all fronts. On average, every $1,000 invested by The FUND in priority programs leads to $7,000 in additional protection funding for the Lake.

Harnessing the momentum of our progress to date, we now take the unprecedented step of launching the $10 million Forever FUND Campaign. As featured in these pages, the Campaign will provide the nancial capacity for scaling our results basinwide to fully realize our protection goals for 2020 and beyond.

Launching The Forever FUND Campaign comes at a pivotal time for our great Lake. As one of a dozen lakes in New York State’s Harmful Algal Bloom Initiative, Lake George is the only one yet to experience a toxic bloom and its devastating impacts on drinking water, recreation, tourism, and more. The science-to-solutions path being forged by The FUND and our many committed partners is designed to reduce the risk of a toxic outbreak by improving the Lake’s water quality and its resilience to an outbreak, for generations to come. Success in reaching our Forever FUND Campaign goal is critical to our success in heading off a toxic algal bloom at Lake George.

Indeed, a growing number of waters in New York and nationwide, especially those struggling with the complexities and consequences of toxic algal blooms, are reaching out to us for help. They are eager to learn about The FUND’s Model for Enduring Protection and how it can be adapted for their waters. This includes application of the unparalleled technologies and big data analytics of the Jefferson Project, our historic partnership with IBM and RPI, to make Lake George the world’s smartest and best protected water body. Increasingly, Lake George is serving as both destination and inspiration for what it takes to secure our most vital natural asset, clean water, a momentous role be tting the Queen of American Lakes.

Whether working with our partners in science or in how we bring that science to bear on solving complex problems, The FUND’s leadership through partnership now extends to every sector—from public of cials to private businesses—all committed to protecting Lake George. As highlighted in this report, by fusing partnership with program innovation and, most important, direct investment, our Model for Enduring Protection of Lake George is producing the unstoppable energy required for breakthrough results and lasting success.

Together, as partners for protection and investors in success, we will keep Lake George clear and clean, forever.

Jeff Kileen

Our 2020 goals are ambitious.

And with our Model of partnership, innovation, and investment, we’re on track to meet them.

2020 Goals

Lake George serves as global example to inform sustained protection of freshwater ecosystems.

No new invasives species enter Lake George.

Lake George provides the nation’s Best Practices model for reducing salt use.

Lake George leads the nation for Best Practices management of wastewater and stormwater.

Latest Progress On Protection Priorities

Science of Solutions

Forecasting the Future

RPI-built vertical profilers are the workhorses for data generation.

Guiding FUND actions and empowering our diverse partners is the cutting edge caliber of the science that unites us and lights the path to enduring protection of Lake George.

Partnership

The Jefferson Project, our historic partnership with IBM and RPI, has reached its goal of making Lake George “the world’s smartest lake” to inform sustained protection.

The Project’s advanced analytics and modeling on complex problems, including toxic algal blooms, are creating vital new partnerships with other waters confronting toxic blooms.

Innovation

51 sensor platforms and over 500 sensors of the Jefferson Project are generating nine terabytes of data per year to understand Lake conditions and monitor our protection progress.

Among the Project’s major breakthroughs is the “scenario engine” that applies big data (past and present) to produce the most accurate outlook possible to inform effective actions.

Investment

$2,566,544 invested by The FUND since 2013

Invasive Species

Expanding Our Ring of Protection

The new boat wash station in action south of Lake George along I-87.

The power of The FUND’s Model for Enduring Protection is best demonstrated in the investment-driven partnership we created to successfully advocate for the strongest aquatic invasive species prevention program east of the Mississippi. Since the mandatory program was established by New York State in 2014, more than 140,000 boats have been inspected and, as needed, decontaminated, before launching into the Lake.

Partnership

The FUND and our public/private partnership leveraged success at Lake George to create the Adirondack-wide prevention program that now has 28 boat wash stations at key locations, in addition to the 6 at Lake George.

Innovation

Co-funding of the Lake George prevention program by The FUND and our partners—the linchpin for State agreement to establish the program—continues to this day.

Knowing full protection requires keeping invasives far from the Lake, The FUND invested in the new boat wash station along I-87, a major corridor for invasives transport.

Investment

$1,342,211 invested by The FUND since 2013 (for prevention and removal)

Salt Reduction

Significant Salt Reduction

Live-edge plow demo at The FUND’s 4th Annual Salt Summit.

With our partners, FUND leadership in reducing the use of harmful road salt fully exhibits science-to-solutions in action.

Partnership

The FUND’s municipal partners are achieving science-guided reductions of road salt by employing established Best Practices.

FUND advocacy brought NYSDOT aboard this past season, a crucial step to reduce salt use on the Lake’s most heavily salted road, State Route 9N.

Innovation

23 municipal trucks in the basin are now equipped with state-of-the-art tracking instruments to measure application rates that guide operators in reducing salt use.

The Town of Lake George has reduced salt use by over 30% and was awarded SWiM (Sustainable Winter Management) Certification—the first municipal award nationwide

Investment

$521,945 invested by The FUND since 2015

Water Quality & Clarity

Heading Off Toxic Algal Blooms

The real risk of a toxic algal bloom requires unprecedented action.

Given intensifying threats to water quality and clarity, The FUND’s largest investments—along with our most targeted partnerships and innovations—are being applied to reduce wastewater and stormwater pollution that include excessive nutrients feeding the risk of toxic blooms.

Partnership

The Waterkeeper partnered with Bolton and the Village of Lake George to upgrade their wastewater treatment plants, both on the State’s short list for preventing toxic algal blooms.

The Waterkeeper worked with Queensbury to adopt the first septic transfer law in the basin.

Similar Waterkeeper-led partnerships with Bolton and Queensbury on stormwater pollution will establish these as “LID (Low Impact Development) Certified Communities.”

Innovation

The Septic Initiative of The FUND, Waterkeeper, and Town of Lake George (funded by NYSDEC) produced a powerful new algorithm to prioritize septic system inspections and, as necessary, replacement. A process is underway to apply this tool for the more than 6,000 systems basinwide.

The FUND’s direct grant to Bolton paid for the woodchip bioreactor at the Town’s treatment plant—the first in the nation for municipal use. It is already reducing nitrates from the plant.

Investment

To achieve our 2020 goals and scale our work for full protection of the entire Lake George basin, we are publicly announcing... The Forever FUND Campaign

A $10,000,000 investment in permanent protection of Lake George.

What does Forever mean?

As long as people rely on and enjoy these magnificent clear waters, Lake George will need vigorous protection. There is no finish line for this critical work. Our Lake will need our guiding leadership for every generation that follows. The Forever FUND meets this need.

The $10,000,000 Forever FUND Campaign will drive completion of our protection milestones for 2020 and create the science-to-solutions platform for permanent protection of Lake George. This campaign—the largest in the history of Lake George protection—will establish a permanent endowment at the level necessary to ensure that upon its completion every dollar of contributions made to The FUND will be applied directly to our protection programs.

The FUND’s uniquely efficient, partner-led business model makes this possible. Your generous contribution to The Forever FUND at this pivotal time for Lake George makes it real.

The full 2018 independent audit prepared by Whittemore, Dowen and Ricciardelli, LLP of Queensbury, NY is available upon request. The figures above are presented in a format designed to facilitate an understanding of the sources of our revenue, the nature of our expenditures, and the financial status of our organization.